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Israeli retaliation exposes international complicity

January 10, 2017 at 10:08 am

Pisgat Ze’ev and Ramat Shlomo settlements in east and south Jerusalem, December 2016 [Daniel Bar On/Anadolu]

Promoting its settler-colonialism as a response to UN Security Council Resolution 2334 has been acknowledged and articulated clearly by the Israeli government. On Monday, Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel signed grant agreements totalling $625,000 with the Israeli mayors of Beit El, Kiryat Arba and Har Hevron Regional Council; the aim is to entice Israeli youth to collaborate with the government’s colonial ambitions.

“In times when there are those who would undermine our presence in Judea and Samaria [the occupied West Bank],” said Gamliel, “I call on young people in Israel to settle in this wonderful region of the country. You have the full political, economic and social security support of the government to settle in Judea and Samaria.”

While belligerence like this is undoubtedly expected, such a statement also reflects a major fault of the international community, namely its insistence on distinguishing between Israel and its later settlement expansion. This distinction has contributed to major disadvantages for Palestinians, as it allows countries to promote the colonial agenda at the expense of the colonised land and population. Any reaction to Netanyahu’s post-resolution retaliation will radiate irrelevance when compared to the structured agenda being implemented, with the complete support of the international community.

The grants, according to Gamliel, are Israel’s answer to the “poor conduct” of the various UN institutions. “This is our answer to BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions],” she added. “We are here to stay. A nation does not occupy its own land.”

It is one thing for Israel to express blatant fabrications. However, at an international level, the elimination of the reality of Israeli colonialism from everyone’s rhetoric has contributed to the thriving of the carefully crafted fictional narrative. Israel retains a unique status which allows it to colonise Palestinian land without being held accountable for colonisation. Indeed, Gamliel’s statement does not even qualify as defiance, considering the prevailing acquiescence to Israeli demands.

There is a verbal deficiency in both Israeli and international discourse which creates purported conflict where in reality there is only evidence of collaboration. Hence, Gamliel’s premise regarding settler-colonialism providing an “answer” is erroneous since there is no collective effort in terms of constructive questioning for which answers must be given. Instead, one finds complicit international institutions and movements which operate from the same premise; even though the ultimate aim may differ from that of the international community, there is still a lack of ideological structure which Israel can exploit.

Departing from this observation, it is easy to see why Resolution 2334 has served Israeli interests rather than Palestinian demands. As long as the imperative is consistent with Israel’s existence and Palestinian subjugation, there is little chance that the equation will alter; opportunism such as promoting settler-colonialism to Israeli youth, meanwhile, will only be a simple news brief as far as the media is concerned. There are far more sinister motives at play, which the international community is not even concerned about cloistering any longer.

Such an attitude is revelatory; Israel has exceeded the parameters of impunity and there is no intention to halt, let alone reverse, such violations. Differentiation has served Israel well, for the international community would rather deal with settlers and settlement expansion as a separate phenomenon rather than as a direct consequence of the inherently violent colonial state that it helped to create in historic Palestine almost 70 years ago.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.